More than 6600 people and organisations have made submissions on how they would like to see stewardship land reclassified on the West Cost of the South Island, the Department of Conservation says.

By the closing deadline yesterday, DOC had received 660 individual and 5980 pro forma submissions on proposals to reclassify 504 parcels of stewardship land on the West Coast.

Stewardship land is the term given to land allocated to DOC when it was formed in 1987, which was deemed to have conservation value, but had not been given a specific land classification.

An independent national panel of technical experts and a Ngāi Tahu Mana Whenua Panel were established last year to assess the land for its conservation, recreation and cultural values and recommend the appropriate level of protection.

DOC Operations Director, Karl Beckert, says the large number of submissions speaks to the commitment people have to the future of the region.

"Working together with Ngāi Tahu on this process has been a privilege, and testament to a strong partnership approach.

“We are very grateful to all the individual West Coasters, environmental organisations, farmers, West Coast Councils, commercial interest groups and others who submitted.

“The West Coast is the first region where stewardship land is reclassified in this way, and the feedback received will help guide the process in other parts of the country,” says Karl Beckert.

DOC will hold hearings from 12-19 September on the West Coast and online. Submitters who indicated they wanted to be heard by the panels will be emailed to confirm a date and time for them to appear.

The information received through the submissions and the hearing will be used to inform the National and Mana Whenua Panels’ final recommendations and DOC’s advice to the Minister of Conservation, who will make a final decision on the land classifications.

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